I am taking a break from politics today to reminisce about something we may not think about much until they are silent. I am talking about the voices that narrated some of the great moments of sports that gave us incredible memories throughout our lives.

I can still remember vividly some of the moments I shared with my Dad, which revolved around sports and music. My Dad was a Jazz fan, primarily the Big Bands. I remember the Boston Globe and Newport Jazz Festivals and listening to Duke Ellington at Cranes Castle in Ipswich, Massachusetts. I remember my first Patriots game when they played at Fenway Park, and going onto the field to stand in front of the Green Monster after the game because that is where his hero, Ted Williams, played for so many years. And there was the night we listened to Jose Feliciano’s Light My Fire at Harvard Stadium. We didn’t have much growing up, but damn, we have great memories. We lived better than the wealthy.

Growing up in New England, we were spoiled with some of the greatest voices of radio and TV, who brought our sports heroes into our living room or bedroom, and I went to sleep with their voices in my head. There were so many of the early pioneers of play-by-play. Curt Gowdy was the voice of the Boston Red Sox and the early years of the AFL. Many a fall Sunday, I spent with Gowdy and Pat Summerall, hoping for a Patriot win. There was Johnny Most of the Celtics and Fred Cusick of the Bruins. They were familiar voices that were part of our sports journey. These were the early days when the game was the story and the “voice” was the supporting cast, unlike today when it is often reversed. I wrote a couple of years ago about the man I thought had the best job in the world, Jim Nance. I am listening to him call the final holes of The Masters as I write this article. My opinion of Nance has not changed. His voice is like the violin to an orchestra. He is integral to the event.

Two legends said goodbye today as they signed off on their last broadcasts. Mike Gorman, who has been the TV voice of the Celtics since the Larry Bird era, and Verne Lundquist, who has been calling the 16th at Augusta since before Tiger Woods picked up a club, signed off today for the last time.

We celebrate these men for the careers they have enjoyed and the joy and memories they have given us. They are the voices you hear, and you are transported back to a moment in time and a memory that brings a smile to your face or a tear to your eye. Sports do not have the importance in life it did when we were younger, but I am thankful for so many memories. The voices that brought us those moments, whether early on via radio or on TV, are as memorable as a Carlton Fisk home run in the twelfth inning in ’75 or a Billy Rohr near no-hitter in 1967. To Curt, Ned, Johnny, Gil, Fred, and Jim Nance, thanks for the incredible memories I will cherish until my final breath.

The post The Soundtracks Of Our Lives appeared first on Granite Grok.

Large US Cities have been plagued by a host of problems I’ve repeatedly proven can be solved if residents stop voting for Democrats. Crime, homelessness, systemic mismanagement, and, lately, a rise in business closures and departures are all directly connected to government policy decisions.

That’s what’s so amusing about this great idea from San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston. Grocery stores shuttered without any notice is unfair to the locals, and he’d like a law that requires them to provide at least six months notice. There are a host of loopholes but that’s not the funniest bit. This is.

The bill would also require that grocery stores “meet and work in good faith with neighborhood residents” and the OEWD to find a workable solution to keep groceries available at the location. Those solutions could include identifying strategies and resources to allow the store to remain open, helping residents organize and open a cooperative and identifying another grocery store operator to take over and continue grocery sales at the location.

Strategies like, oh, I don’t know, arresting and prosecuting shoplifters?

San Francisco, to its credit, ousted a previous DA from the Soros Chaos Coaching tree, but not much has improved. With drugs, homelessness, and the infamous poop map, it is a city in rapid decline. Third-world diseases long eradicated from American shores have returned thanks to its long-running status as a sanctuary city that invited them back).

Getting rid of cash bail and ignoring crime was as much a progressive lurch to the left as it was a capacity problem. Like many post-BLM summer cities, San Francisco made sure the same cops they’d been in charge of for decades knew they did not have their back. With the justice system and the city against them, hiring and retention became difficult by design.

In other words, this is San Francisco’s fault, and the solutions are to reverse policy or – since that seems unlikely – replace “leadership (even less likely).

Yes, San Francisco is screwed whether the meddling grocery store idea finds its legs or not.  Business owners will hire lawyers to get them through the loopholes to avoid prosecution because “Under the legislation, any person affected by a grocery store’s failure to comply with the requirements could initiate legal proceedings for damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to remedy the violation. ”

They will secure an exit strategy that does not require them to help find some sucker to replace them, not that anyone, knowing the risks the rules create, would open a business there. The solution is just as much a reason not to do business on the Streets of San Franciso. This leaves the people the City has screwed with declining options, much like the departure of other stores from CVS and Walgreens to Wal-Mart, Amazon, and others.

The people the City said it was helping suffer, so I have to wonder if San Fran will propose an idea similar to the one by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson—socialized grocery stores. Policy drove them out, and policy kept them away, so why not just take over? 

All Chicagoans deserve to live near convenient, affordable, healthy grocery options. We know access to grocery stores is already a challenge for many residents, especially on the South and West sides. A better, stronger, safer future is one where our youth and our communities have access to the tools and resources they need to thrive. My administration is committed to advancing innovative, whole-of-government approaches to address these inequities.

There is (of course) no mention of how the government created the inequities.

“The city of Chicago is reimagining the role government can play in our lives by exploring a public option for grocery stores via a municipally owned grocery store and market,” Pawar said. “Not dissimilar from the way a library or the postal service operates, a public option offers economic choice and power to communities.”

If they run it like the post office, are you warning taxpayers that they will be subsidizing the systemic losses to keep food prices within reachable range for these communities? And the more important question, will  “the city-owned stores tolerate the rampant unprosecuted shoplifting that drove other businesses away?” If not, how do you stop it without arresting brown people and since it is a government facility, is there a way to label it as insurrection?

The post Night Cap: If You Needed More Proof That San Francisco is Run by Idiots … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Whether from the gallery or on video, if you’ve watched the senate for enough hours and minutes, you know that the one with the gavel regularly asks the rest of the body “are you ready for the question?”

As the one bragging to have the longest time with possession of the gavel, former Senate President Chuck Morse is now on the receiving end of that question(from me) because he’s coming to stump locally at Sky Meadow on May 8, which is 3 weeks from now.

I was planning to submit this piece closer to that date, but between Kelly Ayotte and Chuck Morse, it was just a matter of time before one of them would unleash the first attack against the other, a campaign decision not made lightly, I am sure.  For the record, I’m not here to judge either one of them for taking that initiative or not.  It’s just that considering Kelly already had her turn to stump locally and Chuck firing the first shot last week, now is a good time.

Video and recording is forbidden as per NRCC rules, but I expect a room full of witnesses to be paying attention, even though many of them are likely tired of me mentioning Chuck’s 11/19/21 crime against NH that should never be ignored.

As I pointed out earlier, I take Sharon Carson’s January 4 in-person words on good faith that Chuck will answer my question and I therefore expect to be called on.  Oh, and I still plan to be polite, which I should reaffirm for the record.

However, as to not double dip, I’ve prepared a few suggested questions for others to ask.  They are not meant to discourage people from asking their own questions, but to encourage people to take it upon themselves to get him to go on record with regard to important matters receiving less campaign trail attention.  The enemy camp is in love with the word “underserved.”  Let’s just use that word to describe the amount of attention Adam Sexton is giving the following questions:

1) Will you renew the appointment of our current attorney general, and why or why not?
2) Will you sign HB 1093(school mask bill, previously vetoed)?
3) Will you sign HB 1414(Gunstock audit) if it comes to your desk in the future?
4) Will you sign HB 1002(RTK Tax) in its current form?
5) What is your opinion of commuter rail(something very bad for Nashua) coming to NH?
6) What is your level of knowledge of the youth center atrocities over the years and your plan to address it?
7) Will you promise not to repeat the same Mask Madness imposed on NH on 11/19/20, right after the Damn Emperor was reelected to a 3rd term?

I will end with the following disclosure that Kelly Ayotte already had her local stump event at the same place on February 8 and she was asked about HB 1002 and the youth center.  However, the other questions listed certainly apply to her also.  If you have questions to add to the list that are outside of the usual questions, kindly put them in the comments.  And, of course, between her and Chuck, a criticism of one of them is NOT necessarily an endorsement of the other.

The post Chuck Morse, “Are You Ready for the Question?” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Manchester NH House Rep/Lobbyist Alissandra Murray has occasionally attracted the attention of our authors and commenters. Last week, she is reported to have used the block feature on her X account, which is as good a time as any to revisit this.

If you communicate the people’s business there, can you block people whose responses you dislike or with whom you disagree?

According to both circuit court and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling, “officials who post about work-related topics on their personal social media accounts can be held liable for violating the First Amendment rights of constituents by blocking their access or deleting their critical comments.”

Work-related means political communications.

I’ve issued similar warnings in the past that include not just Dems but Republicans and Libertarians. This was inevitable, and this latest 9-0 first amendment decision sets the groundwork. Suppose you discuss your political agenda on measures, bills, issues, or other business of a town, county, state, or federal office. In that case, the public must be able to comment, or you are violating their First Amendment rights.

Rep. Murray, while not the only offender, is using this platform for political communication.

In Murray’s defense, political activity (speech) is not the means by which a potential violation of constituents’ rights is measured. Alissandra is still a free person and citizen with the same rights as the rest of us. She can speak as an individual and is not required to let just anyone engage her content. She could remark frequently and at length on a wide range of topics, especially on groups “owned” and moderated by others, without the moderator being obligated to allow the speech of dissenter others or ensuring they have access to respond.

How do we know the difference?

After a more detailed review, the Court’s standard measures whether “the official both (1) possessed the actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social media posts.”

It seems reasonable to suggest that Murray has no real authority, even as a House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee clerk. Still, she does have a vote in both the body and the committee. The opportunity to speak with authority on matters of interest to the state is not impossible.

This is also true for every other elected or appointed individual, especially at the county or local level, where their position makes them the executor or manager of policy that directly affects citizens and taxpayers.

It is not about whether you think you have authority but whether someone else can convince a court of it; in this case, the safest path is to allow the communication and ignore it or respond to it at your discretion.

In a free society with a First Amendment, your inconvenience (or umbrage) is the lesser concern than the right of others to engage you in political debate on matters where you have influence.

Unless the state can use force (because of the content shared), meaning it violates some existing law or statute (not the ones that exist in your head), my advice is to shut up and take it. I get that this won’t be popular with anyone. Leaving certain content has the appearance of consent or allowing them to use your platform for their speech.

So what?

If you’re right and they are wrong, ignore them. If you can’t do that, prove them wrong or get a proxy to engage them and move along. If they are unhinged, screen grab it, put it in a folder, and use it against them or the people they support.

Blocking people may not explicitly violate their First Amendment rights, but it makes you look like an incapable, incompetent coward.

I know, hours in the day. You don’t get paid to deal with this crap, but Alissandra does. She gets paid a salary by a third-party activist group.

She’s just being a coward.

 

The post To Alissandra Murray and Everyone Else in Office Blocking People on Social Media … appeared first on Granite Grok.

The New Hampshire General Court (i.e., our legislature) has reached “crossover.” The House has acted on all its bills and has started to deal with Senate Bills. The Senate has done the converse.

I have crunched the numbers – i.e., the voting records of 2024 through crossover – to determine objectively which members are RINOs – Republicans In Name Only.

I looked at every vote in which Republicans voted opposite Democrats. More specifically, I looked at all votes in which a supermajority (80%) of Republicans voted opposite a majority of Democrats. I ignored votes where both sides voted the same. A RINO vote is when a Republican votes with Democrats against a supermajority of Republicans.

The House has had 216 roll calls so far this year. On 21 of those, the Rs and Ds both voted the same. Those votes were ignored. On 15 other votes, Rs were divided, e.g. RC #137 had Rs voting 72%-28%. Those votes were ignored as not meeting the 80% threshold. The remaining 180 votes were scored as potential RINO votes. As it happens, 100% of Rs voted together – i.e., none of the Rs voted with the Dems – on many of those RCs, so there were no RINO votes on those RCs.

We want to thank Spec Bowers for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Almost every Rep at one time or another casts a vote the same as the Democrats. One example is when a Republican votes against the budget because it is too large, while the Democrats vote against it because they think it is too small. Thankfully, such votes are not common.

Most Republicans only rarely vote with Democrats against other Republicans. There were 37 who scored a perfect 0%. Looking at all Republicans, the median RINO score was 1.7%, meaning that, on average, they voted with Democrats only 1.7% of the time. 80% of Republicans scored lower than 4.7%; 90% scored lower than 8%.

There were 11 Republicans who voted more than 10% of the time against fellow Republicans. Clearly, they are out of mainstream Republicanism. Even more outside of the mainstream were 4 Republicans who voted more than 20% of the time with Democrats against Republicans. Worst as usual was Dan Wolf.

	RINO score	RINO votes
Wolf, Dan (R, Newbury)	69.7%	108
Bordes, Mike (R, Laconia)	31.0%	48
Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	24.5%	37
Thackston, Dick (R, Troy)	22.6%	35
Coker, Matthew (R, Meredith)	17.1%	30
Bickford, David (R, New Durham)	14.7%	25
O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	13.1%	8
Pearson, Mark (R, Hampstead)	12.2%	22
Ankarberg, Aidan (R, Rochester)	11.7%	21
Mason, James (R, Franklin)	11.1%	15
Proulx, Mark (R, Manchester)	11.0%	17

Here is the full list:

	RINO score	RINO votes
Wolf, Dan (R, Newbury)	69.7%	108
Bordes, Mike (R, Laconia)	31.0%	48
Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	24.5%	37
Thackston, Dick (R, Troy)	22.6%	35
Coker, Matthew (R, Meredith)	17.1%	30
Bickford, David (R, New Durham)	14.7%	25
O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	13.1%	8
Pearson, Mark (R, Hampstead)	12.2%	22
Ankarberg, Aidan (R, Rochester)	11.7%	21
Mason, James (R, Franklin)	11.1%	15
Proulx, Mark (R, Manchester)	11.0%	17
Nagel, David (R, Gilmanton)	9.8%	15
Milz, David (R, Derry)	9.7%	14
Boyd, Bill (R, Merrimack)	9.5%	17
Sytek, John (R, Salem)	9.0%	16
Bogert, Steven (R, Laconia)	8.9%	16
Pratt, Kevin (R, Raymond)	8.3%	15
Hunt, John (R, Rindge)	8.3%	14
Crawford, Karel (R, Moultonborough)	8.0%	11
King, Seth (R, Whitefield)	7.8%	14
Pearson, Stephen (R, Derry)	7.8%	14
Packard, Sherman (R, Londonderry)	7.5%	3
Foote, Charles (R, Derry)	7.4%	12
Roy, Terry (R, Deerfield)	7.3%	13
Vandecasteele, Susan (R, Salem)	7.1%	11
Phinney, Brandon (R, Rochester)	7.0%	11
Trottier, Douglas (R, Belmont)	6.9%	7
Healey, Robert (R, Merrimack)	6.7%	12
Rhodes, Jennifer (R, Winchester)	6.7%	12
McDonnell, Valerie (R, Salem)	6.1%	11
Yokela, Josh (R, Fremont)	6.1%	11
Gerhard, Jason (R, Northfield)	5.8%	10
Fedolfi, Jim (R, Hillsborough)	5.4%	9
Cole, Brian (R, Manchester)	5.3%	7
Kuttab, Katelyn (R, Windham)	5.2%	9
Nelson, Jodi (R, Derry)	5.0%	9
Popovici-Muller, Daniel (R, Windham)	5.0%	9
Mooney, Maureen (R, Merrimack)	4.9%	8
Testerman, Dave (R, Franklin)	4.9%	7
Harley, Tina (R, Seabrook)	4.7%	6
MacDonald, John (R, Wolfeboro)	4.5%	8
Plett, Fred (R, Goffstown)	4.5%	8
Tierney, James (R, Northumberland)	4.5%	6
Davis, Arnold (R, Milan)	4.4%	8
Lascelles, Richard (R, Litchfield)	4.0%	7
Rochefort, David (R, Littleton)	4.0%	7
Ball, Lorie (R, Salem)	3.9%	7
Janvrin, Jason (R, Seabrook)	3.9%	7
Stapleton, Walter (R, Claremont)	3.9%	7
Brown, Carroll (R, Bristol)	3.6%	6
Dolan, Tom (R, Londonderry)	3.6%	6
Katsakiores, Phyllis (R, Derry)	3.4%	6
Ouellet, Mike (R, Colebrook)	3.4%	6
Seidel, Sheila (R, Goffstown)	3.4%	6
Cahill, Tim (R, Raymond)	3.3%	6
Donnelly, Tanya (R, Salem)	3.3%	6
Emerick, Tracy (R, Hampton)	3.3%	6
Weyler, Kenneth (R, Kingston)	3.3%	6
Verville, Kevin (R, Deerfield)	3.2%	5
Boehm, Ralph (R, Litchfield)	2.8%	5
Brown, Richard (R, Moultonborough)	2.8%	5
Corcoran, Travis (R, Weare)	2.8%	5
Costable, Michael (R, Freedom)	2.8%	5
Ladd, Rick (R, Haverhill)	2.8%	5
Melvin, Charles (R, Newton)	2.8%	5
Phillips, Emily (R, Fremont)	2.8%	5
Reid, Karen (R, Deering)	2.8%	5
Spilsbury, Walter (R, Charlestown)	2.8%	5
Lundgren, David (R, Londonderry)	2.8%	4
Beaudoin, Richard (R, Gilford)	2.6%	4
Khan, Aboul (R, Seabrook)	2.6%	4
McLean, Mark (R, Manchester)	2.5%	4
Prudhomme-O’Brien, Katherine (R, Derry)	2.4%	4
Simon, Matthew (R, Littleton)	2.3%	4
Cordelli, Glenn (R, Tuftonboro)	2.2%	4
Creighton, Jim (R, Antrim)	2.2%	4
Drye, Margaret (R, Plainfield)	2.2%	4
Ford, Oliver (R, Chester)	2.2%	4
Greeson, Jeffrey (R, Wentworth)	2.2%	4
Kelley, Diane (R, Temple)	2.2%	4
King, Bill (R, Milford)	2.2%	4
Lekas, Tony (R, Hudson)	2.2%	4
MacDonald, Wayne (R, Londonderry)	2.2%	4
Pauer, Diane (R, Brookline)	2.2%	4
Ploszaj, Tom (R, Center Harbor)	2.2%	4
Potenza, Kelley (R, Rochester)	2.2%	4
Santonastaso, Matthew (R, Rindge)	2.2%	4
Seaworth, Brian (R, Pembroke)	2.2%	4
Smith, Jonathan (R, Ossioee)	2.2%	4
Thomas, Douglas (R, Londonderry)	2.2%	4
Tudor, Paul (R, Northwood)	2.2%	4
Walsh, Lilli (R, Hampstead)	2.2%	4
Infantine, William (R, Manchester)	2.1%	3
Panek, Sandra (R, Pelham)	2.0%	3
Andrus, Louise (R, Salisbury)	1.9%	3
Belcher, Mike (R, Wakefield)	1.7%	3
Berry, Ross (R, Manchester)	1.7%	3
Edwards, Jess (R, Auburn)	1.7%	3
Harb, Robert (R, Plaistow)	1.7%	3
Lekas, Alicia (R, Hudson)	1.7%	3
Lewicke, John (R, Mason)	1.7%	3
Lynn, Bob (R, Windham)	1.7%	3
Mannion, Dennis (R, Salem)	1.7%	3
Mannion, Tom (R, Pelham)	1.7%	3
McCarter, Nikki (R, Belmont)	1.7%	3
McConkey, Mark (R, Freedom)	1.7%	3
McGough, Tim (R, Merrimack)	1.7%	3
Notter, Jeanine (R, Merrimack)	1.7%	3
Renzullo, Andrew (R, Hudson)	1.7%	3
Rollins, Skip (R, Newport)	1.7%	3
Spillane, James (R, Deerfield)	1.7%	3
Smith, Steven (R, Charlestown)	1.6%	2
Coulon, Matthew (R, Pike)	1.5%	2
Murphy, Michael (R, Gorham)	1.5%	2
Durkin, Sean (R, Northumberland)	1.4%	2
Cambrils, Jose (R, Loudon)	1.2%	2
Cushman, Leah (R, Weare)	1.2%	2
Smart, Lisa (R, Meredith)	1.2%	2
Sweeney, Joe (R, Salem)	1.2%	2
Abare, Kimberly (R, Pelham)	1.1%	2
Alexander, Joe (R, Goffstown)	1.1%	2
Ammon, Keith (R, New Boston)	1.1%	2
Bailey, Glenn (R, Milton)	1.1%	2
Connor, James (R, Rochester)	1.1%	2
DeSimone, Debra (R, Atkinson)	1.1%	2
Gorski, Ted (R, Bedford)	1.1%	2
Hoell, J.R. (R, Dunbarton)	1.1%	2
Janigian, John (R, Salem)	1.1%	2
Kennedy, Stephen (R, Hudson)	1.1%	2
Kofalt, Jim (R, Wilton)	1.1%	2
McGuire, Carol (R, Epsom)	1.1%	2
McGuire, Dan (R, Epsom)	1.1%	2
Polozov, Yury (R, Hooksett)	1.1%	2
Porcelli, Susan (R, Hampton Falls)	1.1%	2
Post, Lisa (R, Lyndeborough)	1.1%	2
Stone, Jonathan (R, Claremont)	1.1%	2
Vose, Michael (R, Epping)	1.1%	2
Gould, Linda (R, Bedford)	0.9%	1
Pitre, Joseph (R, Farmington)	0.8%	1
Aron, Judy (R, South Acworth)	0.6%	1
Aylward, Deborah (R, Danbury)	0.6%	1
Burnham, Claudine (R, Milton)	0.6%	1
Colcombe, Riché (R, Hillsborough)	0.6%	1
Doucette, Fred (R, Salem)	0.6%	1
Drago, Mike (R, Raymond)	0.6%	1
Dunn, Ron (R, Londonderry)	0.6%	1
Erf, Keith (R, Weare)	0.6%	1
Gagne, Larry (R, Manchester)	0.6%	1
Granger, Michael (R, Milton)	0.6%	1
Hill, Gregory (R, Northfield)	0.6%	1
Horgan, James (R, Farmington)	0.6%	1
Leavitt, John (R, Hooksett)	0.6%	1
Newton, Clifford (R, Rochester)	0.6%	1
Noble, Kristin (R, Bedford)	0.6%	1
Nutting, Zachary (R, Winchester)	0.6%	1
Osborne, Jason (R, Auburn)	0.6%	1
Prout, Andrew (R, Hudson)	0.6%	1
Qualey, James (R, Rindge)	0.6%	1
Quaratiello, Arlene (R, Atkinson)	0.6%	1
Sellers, John (R, Bristol)	0.6%	1
Soti, Julius (R, Windham)	0.6%	1
Tripp, Richard (R, Derry)	0.6%	1
Turcotte, Len (R, Barrington)	0.6%	1
Aures, Cyril (R, Chichester)	0.0%	0
Avellani, Lino (R, Wakefield)	0.0%	0
Bean, Harry (R, Gilford)	0.0%	0
Berezhny, Lex (R, Grafton)	0.0%	0
Bernardy, JD (R, South Hampton)	0.0%	0
Boyd, Stephen (R, Hooksett)	0.0%	0
Brouillard, Jacob (R, Nottingham)	0.0%	0
Comtois, Barbara (R, Center Barnstead)	0.0%	0
Dumais, Russell (R, Gilford)	0.0%	0
Griffin, Gerald (R, Mont Vernon)	0.0%	0
Harrington, Michael (R, Strafford)	0.0%	0
Harvey-Bolia, Juliet (R, Tilton)	0.0%	0
Hobson, Deb (R, East Kingston)	0.0%	0
Kaczynski, Thomas (R, Rochester)	0.0%	0
Kenny, Catherine (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Layon, Erica (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
Love, David (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
Mazur, Lisa (R, Weare)	0.0%	0
McMahon, Charles (R, Windham)	0.0%	0
Moffett, Michael (R, Loudon)	0.0%	0
Perez, Kristine (R, Londonderry)	0.0%	0
Peternel, Katy (R, Wolfeboro)	0.0%	0
Piemonte, Tony (R, Sandown)	0.0%	0
Potucek, John (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
See, Alvin (R, Loudon)	0.0%	0
Sheehan, Vanessa (R, Milford)	0.0%	0
Sirois, Shane (R, New Ipswich)	0.0%	0
Summers, James (R, Newton)	0.0%	0
Tenczar, Jeffrey (R, Pelham)	0.0%	0
Terry, Paul (R, Alton)	0.0%	0
True, Chris (R, Sandown)	0.0%	0
Ulery, Jordan (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Varney, Peter (R, Alton)	0.0%	0
Wallace, Scott (R, Danville)	0.0%	0
Walsh, Thomas (R, Hooksett)	0.0%	0
Wherry, Robert (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Wood, Clayton (R, Pittsfield)	0.0%	0

The post 2024 RINO Report Card (Through Crossover) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Joe Biden stood at the podium, looked into the camera, and with his strongest demeanor, said, “Don’t” to Iran. Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin took up the verbal sword and uttered the same demand to Iran, “Don’t.” Well, we saw throughout the night from Saturday into Sunday what Iran thinks of the warnings of our Big 3 Dream Team.

They did not go to the microphone but to the trigger and said to Israel, America, and the rest of the Free World, “We Did.”

It took hours for the slow-moving drones, IBMs, and cruise missiles to travel from Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to their target, Israel. Nearly 300 projectiles were launched at the small country of Israel. Because of the sophisticated Israeli defense system and the help of their allies, they managed to intercept 99% of the airborne weapons before they could reach their targets. Iran’s mission to inflict harm on Israel was a failure, but Iran had to see what the outcome would be, so what was the real purpose of this show of aggression?

First, the claim of this being the first attack by Iran on Israel has to be qualified. Iran has been supporting, if not manipulating, Hamas and Hezbollah since this conflict began on October 7. The only difference is the attack, this time, came directly from the territory of Iran. The apparent goal of Iran is to destabilize the Middle East. They see the division in the United States and sense weak support of Israel by America and want to seize on that divide to shake up the Middle East. Countries are choosing sides. Iran has the support of Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and, behind the scenes, Russia and China. Israel has the United States, England, Jordan, and France helping in their defense. The U.S. is calling for restraint from Israel, but Israel says they will do what is necessary to protect their sovereignty.

The escalation in the Middle East from a conflict between Hamas and Israel to a more widespread situation across the region means we now have two major hot spots, the other being Ukraine, that have started under Biden’s watch. This is terrible news for America as it shows a lack of respect for America and fear of Joe Biden. The world, especially our adversaries, knows that Joe Biden has weakened our military, has a poor grasp on foreign affairs, and has an ineffective team in Harris, Blinken, and Austin. China will back Iran, knowing that the Middle East will occupy our attention, drawing it away from Taiwan. Our military is not capable of involvement in multiple theaters.

Nobody in the Middle East wants or can afford a prolonged conflict in the region. The attention now falls on Israel as the world waits to see how she responds to the Iranian aggression. Iran is calling Saturday’s attack a limited first wave and, of course, warns Washington to stay out of the fight. Biden has to be looking to end this quickly, as two international conflicts and the disaster at our southern border will not play well with voters in November. Biden’s number one problem is the man in the mirror. He is not equipped, nor has he surrounded himself with qualified people to handle everything on his plate. This will be a good lesson to show that Woke and Diverse are no match for strong and competent. A bad lesson for Joe. A bad experience for America.

The post “Biden said, Don’t – They Did … So What Happens Next? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Just this:

 

 

(This works because I’m finalizing this post on Sunday.)

 

Take heart – there will be both a Wednesday and Friday Edition.  Last week’s Friday Edition.

Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:

1. Ridicule cannot easily be fought
2. Ridicule makes the enemy angry, and angry people make mistakes
3. For those in the “squishy middle” a Thought Splinter (and Part II and Part III and Part IV) can often be hidden inside humor.

Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.

 

*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one reason I have truly started to hate the ADL.  The sentiment by that professor is not just not a Jewish one – no Shul I’ve ever been in has ever discussed, let alone promoted such that I’ve ever heard – but many on the Left DO hold this idea of eliminating whites.  The problem is that the ADL races to defend Jews even when they have said / done the indefensible.

I do understand the desire to “circle the wagons”.  Every group does this to some degree.  But, like comedian Evan Sayet observed, Plopping Jews have their real faith being liberalism.  The ADL also promotes mass migration and sexual deviancy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d pay good money to see that happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howard Zinn is a commie.  He’s poisoned all sorts of minds over the years.  Here’s a counter to that:

Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America

 

 

 

I may have told this anecdote before… when my mother was alive I’d visit for a couple of days here and here, and one day we were both listening to some absolute-drivel NPR show.  30 minutes of – as she’d put it – drek.  At the end of it she asked me how they could put such on the radio, and I replied that they didn’t make it for people like us.  They made it for their fellows in the media, and all their uber-liberal friends, and for the applause at the cocktail parties of how brave and edgy they were.

 

 

 

 

 

They were NOT “noble savages”, that’s for sure.

Taboo Truths About the Comanche | Frontpage Mag

Indigenous Slavers: American Indians Who Whipped and Owned Blacks | Frontpage Mag

 

 

 

As with so many things, why on earth would someone vote against this?  What possible innocent rationale could someone have against telling people what’s in their food?

Terrorist billionaires and the future of food – American Thinker

Democrats Block Amendment to Require Informing People if They’re Eating Bugs (infowars.com)

Related to the war on food in general:

Proposed EPA Rule Shuts Down Small Meat Producers | American Stewards

 

 

 

 

 

Not helplessly.  Hopelessly.  Screaming at the people repeating history that doom is coming, only to watch those idiots head straight for the cliff.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

I’ll be the first person to admit that my “green thumb” is, well, only kind of green.  It doesn’t help that my soil is a few inches over gravel fill, and crap soil to boot.  Still, I’m gearing up for planting at least something – just cleared out my one 4 X 8 raised bed and hoping next weekend is “stable” enough I can start planting.  Mostly herbs and a bunch of garlic.  Did I mention I love garlic before?

Now, can I feed my family off that?  Not even close.  But… it’s a start, and it’s hopefully implanting an attitude into my kids as well.  Already set potatoes in sunlight to get them sprouting.  The plan is 8 five-gallon buckets for potatoes.  Plus 3-4 things of cherry tomatoes (always better luck than with regular sized ones).  And some beans.

Soon the local farmers markets will start up.  Patronize them.  Buy local whenever you can – not necessarily for cost, because my experience is that it’s not necessarily a savings to do so.  Buy like your food supply depends on that, because it does.  In a few weeks I’ll be compiling and posting a listing of NH farmers markets.  Please help me by commenting below on such markets in your area.  Not just for vegetables, but also local meats.

I do regularly go to the Nashua farmer’s market and need to keep an eye out for when they open for the season.  One year I stumbled on one in Merrimack but it seems spotty at best (didn’t see it the last couple of years).  Any other ones I should know of?  Again, I’ll compile a list.

*** I am looking for some classes to make sausage and cure it for no-refrigeration storage, as well as someone who knows how to set up a pressure canner as I’m stumped. Classes in that, home canning, would be ideal.  ***

One last thing on this, at least for now: make sure you tell those farmers that you’re doing this knowingly and deliberately.  They need to not just see your money coming in, but your words of support.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

Why?  To avoid upsetting their new voting demographic.

 

 

 

People who fail to connect consequences to their actions – in this case, their advocacy – are among the most dangerous in the world.

 

 

As with food in bugs… WHY would someone turn this down?  And if they did do it with malice aforethought, they had to have been “in” on things to at least some degree.  Which speaks, IMHO, to the visceral hate they have for Trump and MAGA that they’re willing to put people at risk like this.  Then again… see just below on what Commies are willing to do to advance Communism.

 

 

Victims of Communism | Keep the flame of liberty alive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel LEFT Gaza in 2005; the blockade – something always very expensive to do – was only implemented in 2008 (I think).  What could possibly have happened that Israel might have decided to do that?

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Link section (some mine, some from my Jarhead friend):

The DOJ, FBI, and the ATF have been busy rewriting the “rules” regarding “engaged in the business” of firearms sales.  As a result, they are about to launch a massive effort to throttle our 2nd Amendment rights.  This is a fairly long read but goes into good detail about how they have weasel-worded the rules so they can target pretty much ANYONE they want to, and then point to the rules that make it legal.  Note that this was NOT voted on by Congress, it’s just an arbitrary change by unelected bureaucrats.:

Biden/Garland Target Political Opposition with “Terrorism”: DOJ Publishes New Rule to Update Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Firearms Dealer – POLITICAL MOONSHINE

—

T.L. Davis with another very thought provoking article.  Right now, if you jump the border, you get a phone, debit cards, medical care, food stamps, and all kinds of other “bennies” which are provided by the US Government (really the taxpayers).  If Trump manages to outwit and outflank all the issues & landmines laid for him and actually win (we hope), all the Deep State has to do is shut off the “free money” spigot by not refilling the debit cards & denying food stamps. Once the “bennies” currently going to all the illegal aliens (invaders, really) gets cut off, millions will be rioting, looting, and stealing within days.  And if armed citizens fight them off, well, we’ll just declare martial law and take the guns.  It’s just another way to undermine America:

Words Aren’t Enough – by T.L. Davis (substack.com)

—

26 Barges Break Loose Causing Bridge Closures and Damage on Ohio River – Vigilant News Network

What are the odds all these things are suddenly happening so quickly?

—

Even the DEMS don’t like Biden’s rules on tailpipe emissions:

Biden Administration Rebuked By Senate On Car Emissions – Victory Girls Blog

—

The 10 Stages of mRNA Denial – Vigilant News Network

Bird Flu Vaccine for Humans ‘Ready for Mass Production’ – Vigilant News Network

Start fortifying yourself with Vitamin C and D, zinc, quercetin, etc.

—

I’m not a fan of Bill Maher, but this monolog is spot on:

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1773916265138016505

—

Moonbattery in Maine:  Last year they passed a “feel good” bill making it illegal to do business with companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  But on April 10th, they STOPPED a bill that would help shut down the 100’s of illegal pot farms that are already operating in Maine (run by Chinese illegals at the behest of the CCP), and also help to prevent new ones from starting.  The CCP has been creating this illegal farms all over Maine, and the Federal authorities won’t do anything to stop them (wonder who they REALLY work for?).  This bill would have given some real teeth to the local law enforcement, so of course it was killed:

Maine Lawmakers Reject Bill That Targets China-Run Marijuana Farms | The Epoch Times

—

Double standards on display:  The DOJ is ignoring Congressional subpoenas, after putting Peter Navarro in jail for not responding to a Congressional subpoena:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-berates-doj-for-defying-congressional-subpoenas-5623170

—

Not surprising, but it looks like many of Trumps enemies are being funded by George Soros and his ilk:

https://twitter.com/pepesgrandma/status/1778475118278361348

—

For those who think the coming war will be “fun” or “easy”, or something they can watch on the 6pm news, Aesop has some comments on that:

Raconteur Report: Once More, With Feeling

—

David Hogg gets schooled by a lady who grew up in communist China:

The Feral Irishman: Meanwhile, At Dartmouth College, A Chinese Immigrant Schools A Useful Idiot….

I’ve met Lily.  I’ve got to send a campaign contribution in this week.

—

A good article that takes a realistic look at prepping for long term survival.  The gist is this:  Unless you have VERY deep pockets, and can afford a bug out place in a remote location (and a means to get there that avoids the roads, like a helicopter), the realistic “survival” time is measures in days for those in cities, weeks for suburbia, and months in rural locations.  Remember, it’s not just criminals who want your preps, it’s EVERYBODY who didn’t prep enough (plus the government).  And as the days go on, more desperate people will be added to that “didn’t prep enough” list.  Are you prepared to fight off a horde of 20?  of 50?   What if the Sheriff shows up with 10 “deputized” men and demands you turn over all your supplies?  Or an Army National Guard unit?  Anyway, read it and start re-thinking your plans:

https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/04/emergency-preparations-dont-fool.html

Related:

“Getting Close To Post Time” – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

—

The dollar is under attack by many forces; the BRICS nations want to kill it, inflation is eating up your dollars daily, and our own government keeps spending money we don’t have.  When the system crashes (by design mind you, this has been orchestrated for decades), people will be using $100 bills as fire-starter.  Got gold & silver?:

https://watcher.guru/news/brics-us-economist-anticipates-bankruptcy-market-crash

The problem – especially at this late hour – is to buy gold and silver with no paper / electronic trail.  You can bet your bottom dollar that all those companies selling “physical gold and silver” will have their records confiscated first thing.

—

The Communist Party’s 45 Goals For America CAME TRUE | Isabel Brown LIVE (rumble.com)

Just… wow.

—

The Girl Who Hugged Trump In Atlanta Is a Treasure – HotAir

OOH, Trump is apparently gaining with blacks and others.  OTOH, do not doubt the DS and its vote fraud machine.

—

The Daily Chart: Bidenflation by the Numbers | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

Damning charts.

Joe Did That: Inflation Costs Americans an Extra $1K Monthly – PJ Media

 

 

—

As Iran readies to attack Israel, remember this is Biden’s design (nypost.com)

Remember, Iran considers America the GREAT SATAN.  And that, in Shia Islam, their version of the messiah cannot come until there is a world war.  To them, WW3 is not a bug but a feature.

While I do sympathize with those who say “Not our problem”, and it is tempting to think this, there is a problem: Iran wants to make it your problem.  More to the point, feeding Israel to the Islamists will simply stimulate their thirst to take on the West in general; after all, the West fed Hitler the Sudetenland, and that didn’t stop Hitler one big.  Appeasement never works.

—

Insurers Spy On Houses Via Aerial Imagery, Seeking Reasons To Cancel Coverage | ZeroHedge

IMHO, yet another way to force people from their homes and into permanent rentals as they can’t afford homes any more.

—

Remember: The climate data foisted on us by NOAA is based 30% on nonexistent weather stations – Behind The Black – Robert Zimmerman

Doesn’t matter.  Belief in “Climate Change” is now the religion for those who think they’re too smart to believe in religion.

—

The Intelligence Community Exists To Spy On Americans (thefederalist.com)

At this point I can’t disagree with this.  Related:

Thomas Massie Reveals Disgusting Carveout Congressional Members Gave Themselves in National Security Bill – The Politics Brief

“Congress gives itself a carve out in the reauthorization of FISA 702 warrantless spying on Americans,” Massie said. “The bill requires the FBI to notify and seek consent from Congress before violating the privacy of Congressmen.”

—

Sri Lankans stop repeal of ‘anti-gay’ laws despite UN pressure (massresistance.org)

A victory!

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Pick of the post:

 

 

Oh, damn that’s the best one of the lot, by far.  Those, and those who say Oh, that’s just not possible.  (Or That can’t happen here.)

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Come back Wednesday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

Thanks to John who bought me a whopping 10 coffees!

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

See all my Jab-related cartoons here.

The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.

Now comes the Appellant Daniel Richard pro se. hereby “objects’ to the reopening of the case in the above-named and numbered Supreme Court case, after the honorable court has closed arguments.

Plaintiff submits it would be fundamentally unfair and a deprivation of plaintiff’s fundamental due process rights for the court to take this unsolicited and extraordinary measure that will unfairly allow the defendants to have a second bite of the apple.

Plaintiff submits; the court was aware during the Supreme Court hearing of November 29, 2023, that his Appeal and ‘complaint’ contain allegations of a constitutional nature, where the plaintiff alleges a denial of constitutional voting rights; that said rights were cited within his complaint; that the plaintiff had an obvious personal stake in the case, and that the plaintiff alleged actual bias and harm caused as a result of said constitutional deprivation.

However well intended, this Court’s solicitation of a brief from the defendants and from friends of the court at this point in the appellate proceeding is extraordinary and appears to try to do by soliciting outside non-parties to what the state has twice declined to do, viz: raise standing in the state answer or in the state’s oral argument. The state’s reasons for not addressing this preliminary issue may be political or it may reflect personal liability of state actors, falling outside the umbrella of indemnity or immunity. Regardless, Appellant suggests it is improper for this unilateral expansion of briefing to outside parties by the highest court judges during appeal when it was not briefed by the state and therefore conceded at the trial court level appears unprecedented as to both activism and bias in the form of by discrimination.

Further, it appears to suggest state actors protecting other state actors by abuse of authority and highly questionable judicial activism to alter some element, presently known or unknown. Because elections are time sensitive, this further delay of a final state decision during an important Presidential election year, further operates to disadvantage Appellant alone. Meanwhile, the State Legislature and various top ranking state politicians have been actively working to “cement” illegal and unconstitutional voting machine voting and counting, and other unreliable election change-processes as “a done deal.’ Putting aside for the moment the millions of dollars of financial incentives involved in this “new” voting machine acquisition, and notwithstanding multiple irregularities already demonstrated in fraudulent computerized tabulating and counting indicating a lack of reliability in state machines, both past (2008) and those sitting in corporate warehouses waiting to be delivered around the state.

This delay and political actor and corporate activism is avoiding statutory reliance procedures. One of those, reliability testing, has a manmade loophole that with an “extension” (based on insider agreements between public officials and private corporations) means independent machine reliability testing can be postponed years beyond the 2024 election. This legislative political manipulation during the pendency of this case and appeal represents benefit to the tune of millions of dollars should this alternate machine-testing “agreement’ be successful.

Meanwhile, the top court is now initiating what appears to be an improper changing of Supreme Court rules for outside briefs on an issue the Plaintiffs briefed and argued below, but the State Defendants did not, even when raised by the lower court magistrate for them.

Placing in controversy Supreme Court Rule 16 with the following, this Courts order states that any replies to the Court’s solicitation must meet the requirements of Rule 16, such an order is contrary and repugnant to this Courts own rule 16 and Rule 30 which prohibits such a late solicitation and it is contrary to this Court’s own precedent on solicitation of Amicus Curiae during the preliminary stages of the Appeal. This Courts solicitation of an Amicus Brief at this time (post oral arguments) violates N.H. Supreme Court Rule 16(7):

“thecourt shall not consider any brief or memorandum of law after a case has

been argued or submitted, unless the court has granted to the party offering to file

the brief or memorandum of law special leave to do so in advance.”

This has not been done. Pursuant to Rule 16, an amicus curiae brief may be filed only with leave of court by interested parties, but moreover, an amicus brief must be limited to issues raised on appeal by the parties.

Plaintiff strongly suggests, this Amicus Brief solicitation cannot now be used to bail out city and state governments, as it was not briefed by the defendants on appeal. The amicus brief cannot now be used to allow a third party to brief standing when the defendants failed to do so themselves, and the respected members of this Supreme court should not allow such an unfair supplemental action against a pro se defendant.

This Court’s call to open an argument of standing with an Amicus Brief solicitation is un-timely and un-fair and suggests improper bias when top judges untimely initiate sua sponte such an order. Amicus Briefs submission is permitted under N.H. Supreme Court Rule (16) and Rule 30(1). Such practice is use in Federal Courts and many other states, during a court’s initial consideration of a case on the merits and not thereafter. This un-timely solicitation of amicus brief by this Court at this time and manner deprives Appellant of his substantive and procedural due process rights, and or the ability to consent to, or to object to, or to reply to any amicus brief filed in the manner provided for by said Court rules of procedure.

There is no prior Appellee motion for special leave of the court filed in advance for permission to file an amicus brief after oral arguments, therefore, under Rule 16(7) no brief or memorandum of law is now admissible in this instant case pursuant to this Court’s own rules.

The Courts use of an order soliciting an Amicus Brief is rare, and in this case, it is extraordinary in its timing, contrary to past precedent of this Court, presents an appearance of state discrimination against a pro se, and violates the Appellant’s Due Process Rights.

The precedent on the use of Amicus Brief solicitation was limited, and it was last used in case # 2022-0114, S.D. v. N.B. on September 20, 2022, (response due Oct. 21. 2022) which was filed well in advance of the submission of that case for consideration before this Court on January 25, 2023 allowing the parties to object to, or consent to, any amicus brief. This precedent does not support this Court present use of an Amicus Brief Solicitation after the time allowed the rules of this Court in effect in this case. Only one side benefits from such a legal maneuver. It is not the Appellant.

At oral arguments the Defendants raised the issue of standing in their oral arguments and spent three and a half minutes arguing why they did not brief the issue of standing, un-convincingly. If the Defendants oral arguments on standing were convincing, and the Court wished to give the Defendant a second bite at the apple, the Court should have done so immediately following oral arguments, not 4 months later. This Court solicitation for an amicus curie brief from the public will now allow a 3rd party to brief standing when defendants failed to do so.

Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald stated in oral arguments that trial court deferred standing, and that the trial court assumed standing. The trial court established standing by rendering its 16-page opinion, otherwise if there was no standing the trial Judge should have dismissed the case for lack of standing, which he did not do. If an error at law, this error by trial court over standing is now being raised by this higher Court and not by the Defendants who chose not to brief standing on appeal.

Defendants state on pg. 1 of their motion to dismiss and pg. 2 item 6, 7, 59, 60, 61, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, Oct. 3, 2022, that the appellant for lack of Standing, “and move to dismiss the complaint in this matter on the grounds of standing” … The Defendants having briefed the issue of standing in lower court, by making the legal decision to not brief standing for a reason. There is some thinking that failure to give a reason and failure to argue standing relates to a political question of whether or not the state actors will lose or not be covered by state immunity for their action’s ultra vires. Under Superior Court rules failure to answer or deny is an issue, is admitted as true. That is not the absence of legal thinking, but the affirmative decision to avoid or ignore or waive the standing issue.

Therefore, the Appellant respectfully moves for the court to sustain Plaintiff’s objection against reopening the case to additional briefs for standing by the parties and that no out-side parties amicus curie brief be permitted into the record, and for the Court render its opinion on this case as briefed.

CERTIFICATION

I, Daniel Richard, do hereby swear that on April 14, 2024, I did deliver through the state court web site a copy of this to Christopher T. Sununu, et al.

Dated April 14, 2024

VERIFACTION

I, Daniel Richard, certify that the foregoing facts to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Daniel Richard

/s/ Daniel Richard

The post Daniel Richard v. Christopher Sununu, et al: Pro SE Plaintiff’s “Objection” To Reopen the Case… appeared first on Granite Grok.

We’ve completed the first week back for Comment of the Week, and it is time for readers and commenters to choose a winner. I’ve selected one comment from each of the past seven days (Mon-Sun) and included them below for you to review before you vote.

The winner, as selected by the Grokosphere, will have the option of contacting me (steve@granitegrok.com) to provide an address to which I will ship a ‘Grok goody. We will announce the winner on Wednesday morning.

I have provided a link to the post where you can find the comment and one to the commenter’s Disqus profile. Feel free to click and review for context if you feel it necessary.

When voting, you will select the Disqus Handle of the commenter you’d like to win this week in the poll below. The poll closes Tuesday at 6 pm.

Comment6 pme as originally submitted.

This week’s “Contestants.”

The Post:  G.E.T. R.E.A.L! – E: Education Reform
The Commenter: Publius

The schools aren’t perfect and share a portion of blame for sure, spending all their spare money on additional useless admin that don’t discipline, don’t give classroom support, don’t do their job of iep compliance, just sit there and try and enforce DEI and useless PD rather than trying to attract the best and brightest teachers with attractive salaries.

But we can’t forget to blame what we know to be the largest driver of student success.

Parents

Parents aren’t reading to their kids anymore, they aren’t fostering a love of learning, a sense of discipline, and a sense of respect

The parents plop their kids down in front of a screen for hours at a time, the almighty tablet has become their one stop shop for entertainment on demand. They then get a smart phone with all the quick-dopamine hits that give them easy highs and terrible lows when comparing themselves to everyone else. This constant connection to everything enables round the clock bullying too, and not to mention how that affects their attention span in the classroom, where they are truly addicted to the screen.

It’s an old comic at this point demonstrating the generational gap where a kid gets bad grades and the older generation asks the child what they did wrong, where the modern generation asks the teacher what they did wrong.

The covid years showed us how many parents don’t even care about the school teaching their kids anything but so many just care about it being free daycare.

As a society we once greatly valued education, but that has slowly been chipped away to ensure a generation of obedient, mindless slaves.

 

The Post: Dartmouth Health Ignores the Evidence
The Commenter: Brian W

“Evidence-based medicine” is a good philosophy but has morphed into the phrase they use when they think they can dazzle us with BS. Notice how little the phrase was used to support all the COVID measures taken, and when discussing treatments especially the clot-shots.

But it is interesting to follow the NHS (UK) travails through the evidence. When they finally shook off the blinders of the ideologues, this is what they did:

In January 2020, a Policy Working Group (PWG) was established by NHS England to undertake a review of the published evidence on the use of puberty blockers and feminising/masculinising hormones in children and young people with gender dysphoria to inform a policy position on their future use. Given the increasingly evident polarisation among clinical professionals, Dr Cass was asked to chair the group as a senior clinician with no prior involvement or fixed views in this area.

The evidence reviews were published in March 2021. Unfortunately, the available evidence was not deemed strong enough to form the basis of a policy position.
https://cass.independent-re…

One observer noted about some testimony in front of a state legislature in the US: When we asked for evidence to support the position for “gender affirming care” for children, the practitioners pointed to WPATH, which is not evidence but a Standard of Care (SOC). Specifically, they point to a paragraph in the WPATH literature where they claim that the SOC is based on a “cross-disciplinary consensus of the leading researchers, doctors, psychologists, and advocates.” Where else have we heard that “consensus” was evidence? The argument became a circular reference never referencing actual evidence. (I should try to find that again – I’m sure I butchered it) WPATH isn’s a professional society – most of its members are activists, so it can’t really even be a “Standard of Care” in the medical sense.

WPATH had a leak of internal messages a couple of years ago. From an article in “The Guardian”:

In one video, doctors acknowledge that patients are sometimes too young to fully understand the consequences of puberty blockers and hormones for their fertility. “It’s always a good theory that you talk about fertility preservation with a 14-year-old, but I know I’m talking to a blank wall,” one Canadian endocrinologist says.

WPATH’s president, Dr Marci Bowers, comments on the impact of early blocking of puberty on sexual function in adulthood. “To date,” she writes, “I’m unaware of an individual claiming ability to orgasm when they were blocked at Tanner 2.” Tanner stage 2 is the beginning of puberty. It can be as young as nine in girls.
https://www.theguardian.com…

In all, this is an insidious attack on children and future generations. If they can sterilize 15-20% of today’s youth, that’s more unborn children than Planned Parenthood could even dream about. We must fight it.

 

The Post: Did State Reps Know What They Were Voting For?
The Commenter: Houmid

The New Hampshire House (and Senate to be frank) suffer from an epidemic of, “have to do something-ism”. It’s an unfortunate fact that most of those representatives were indoctrinated with leftism by our public education system, and hence, are largely unable to apply logic and reason to government, and the effects that legislation has on our social and financial environments (and not just secondary and tertiary effects, but far too often even primary ones.)

The truth is, the more bills passed, the more the state version of the federal register grows. The more it grows, the more it costs to implement and maintain. And the more liberty is chipped away, denying actual rights of self determination to the people of this state.

If our representatives in Concord really want to do something that is of great benefit to the people, I suggest all 400+ of them each pick a single piece of existing legislation or regulation, and either reduce it, or eliminate it completely.

 

The Post: So, When They “Cheat on You,” You’re Supposed to Say, Thank You
The Commenter: tenbuckulus

Sadly it isn’t true that “Democrats will always be worse” because it really depends on what your hot-button issues are. On the trans issue, we have progressive “Republicans” that think gender is a social construct and centrist “Democrats” that recognize we are a sexually dimorphic species.

 

The Post: Jason Osborne’s Self-Serving, Nonsensical Definition Of Tyranny
The Commenter: NewHampshire

Your government in Concord has created many unelected boards and commissions to promote this stuff. Some are basically taxpayer-funded lobbies!!! It’s corruption at the core.

Gov. Sununu’s State Office of Planning and Development

Gov. Sununu’s Housing Appeals Board (appointees)

Legislative Establishment of a Land Court

State Legislature’s Housing Commission (created by Speaker Sherman Packard)

House Special Committee on Housing (created by Speaker Sherman Packard in 2024 which hears bills that normally would go to House Municipal and County Government)

 

The Post: 62% of Americans are Wrong
The Commenter: Tombstone Gabby

I think it’s high time the government had a ‘little chat’ with various unions, plumbers, electricians, etc, about apprenticeships in their respective trades. Some new Trade Schools would also help. The concept that “You have to have a collage degree to succeed” is not true for every youngster.

When the elites have managed to exterminate the ‘least useful’ members of the world’s population, they might just have a real problem with a water leak at 10PM on a Sat10 pmy night.

 

The Post: Rights, or Permissions?
The Commenter: Mike Remski

I don’t disagree with you but my reading/rereading is “That’s not what Ian is asking”.
Don’t focus on the MJ, focus on the reasoning.

That is what I tried to do.

My reading is:
Ian is saying “this is the reasoning/logic they are using to veto X. What is stopping them from using that same reasoning to veto Y”.

That is all. Nothing to do with the merits of X or Y. Just “If you use this reason to disallow X that same reason can be used to disallow Y. Is that what you want?”

Please just one vote for each. The poll will remain open until 6 pm Tuesday 6 pming ET. Results will be announced on Wed. Morning. If you have multiple voters using the same IP address, you will have to wait 8 hours between votes. We can see multiple votes from the same IP.

 

Pick one Commenter as This Weeks Winner

• Publius
• Brian W
• Houmid
• tenbuckulus
• NewHampshire
• Tombstone Gabby
• Mike Remiski

Vote

 

The post Who Wins Free Stuff? – Time to Vote for Comment of the Week appeared first on Granite Grok.

Texas shares approximately half of the 1,954-mile U.S.-Mexican border, making it a primary entry point for illegal immigrants.

In 2011, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 125,821 illegal immigrants in Texas alone. This high volume of illegal immigration presents significant challenges to Texas and the entire U.S., including economic, social, and security concerns.

Economic Impact: The influx of undocumented immigrants can strain public resources and social services, leading to potential economic challenges. It is essential to find a balance between humanitarian concerns and fiscal responsibility. Economically, illegal immigrants impose a significant burden on the state’s resources. They account for about 14% of the students in Texas public schools when U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are included, costing the state around $3.75 billion annually. Furthermore, illegal immigrants are more likely to live in poverty, with about 58% taking advantage of welfare programs, which cost the state an additional $803.3 million annually.

National Security Threat: Open borders can be exploited by criminal organizations, smugglers, and potential terrorists. Ensuring national security becomes a formidable task in such a scenario. From a security perspective, the long Texas-Mexico border requires significant resources to secure, including workforce, equipment, technology, and infrastructure. The overall budget for all agencies and operating costs in 2011 was $56.3 billion. Despite these efforts, illegal immigration continues to be a significant issue.

Rule of Law: The rule of law is fundamental to the stability and functioning of any society. Ignoring illegal immigration can undermine the integrity of legal immigration processes and overall societal trust. The open border policy rewards those who break the law by entering the country illegally, undermining the efforts of those who seek to immigrate legally. Moreover, it threatens national security, as it may allow criminals and potentially dangerous individuals to enter the country undetected.

Public Health: Health concerns, especially during pandemics, are exacerbated by unchecked immigration. It is vital to have measures to ensure the health and safety of the incoming immigrants and the resident population.

Social Cohesion: Large-scale, unregulated immigration can strain social cohesion, as it may lead to cultural clashes and increased polarization within society. Socially, the rapid growth of the Latino population in Texas, primarily due to illegal immigration, threatens to influence state politics and immigration policies. This demographic shift could lead to policies enabling unlawful immigration, exacerbating its associated issues.

Addressing illegals

Immigration and open border issues require a multifaceted approach. It involves ensuring border security, reforming immigration laws, and creating stricter laws for immigrants to enter the country. Maintaining border security is essential to prevent criminal activities and ensure national security. Investment in advanced technology and personnel can be part of the solution.

It should be different from what the Biden administration has done. For instance, it has expanded the Title 42 policy that allows for increased expulsion of migrants while also granting humanitarian parole to 30,000 people from each country monthly, as long as they apply for asylum legally. Under President Trump, the plan required adult asylum seekers to book a meeting with U.S. officials and remain in Mexico or claim asylum in another country first before reaching the U.S. Failure to comply would make migrants ineligible if they subsequently go the border.

The issue of illegal immigration and open borders in Texas and the United States has become challenging. Under President Trump, there was a simple solution: Close the borders!

The circumstances of their arrival are intriguing in that unlike other illegal aliens, most OTMs  (other than Mexicans) promptly turned themselves in. Why is it not known for sure? There can be no doubt, however, that the scheme has given Mexican drug cartels and — potentially — terrorists a promising opportunity to simply step over the invisible line that is our border undetected by border tax adjustments or BTAs because the agents processing the new arrivals could not handle their posts.

To most Americans, the perception has long been that most of those illegally crossing our southern border are Mexicans, people coming here in search of work, looking to join family or a gang. While that may have been the case in the past, it is no longer supported by the latest immigration numbers today. According to a study done by Pew Research, detention of illegal Mexican aliens is at an all-time low. The primary reasons cited for the reversal are current mixed economic conditions, fewer job opportunities in the U.S., increases in deportations, and better border enforcement.  However, the number of illegal aliens has not diminished. As more Mexicans have opted to stay home, children from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras have quickly filled the vacuum. Numerous sources indicate that President Obama’s and President Biden’s executive actions have helped spur these children to make the dangerous journey through Mexico and ultimately up to our border.

The question should be asked is if their parents are poor, how can they come up with as much as $10,000 to have coyotes (people paid by cartels to smuggle drugs and humans across borders) or others bring their child up to the Rio Grande, the natural boundary flowing between Mexico from the U.S. No sources could be found to suggest that terror groups are funding the trips, but one must wonder who is.

That would be understandable if they were arriving in a group of five. But they are coming in droves and in the same timeframe. There is no question that the children are diverting Border Patrol agents from covering their guard posts so illegal border crossers, in particular members of the Mexican drug cartels, their “mules” (people hired to smuggle drugs into the U.S.), as well as gang members and Special Interest Aliens (SIA) can cross the border unapprehended. SIAs are of considerable concern to our intelligence and law enforcement agencies for obvious reasons. Stories are appearing with greater frequency on various news websites and blogs about how radical Islamists are being stopped as they try to enter the country.

In short:  Active cells could attack critical electric-grid substations, the failure of which could compromise or cripple our entire electric infrastructure. Other obvious threats are car bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) placed on busy highways or train tracks, bridge collapses, and other devastating attacks. We must close our borders now.

The post Biden’s Open Border Policy Is Compromising Our National Security appeared first on Granite Grok.

In New Hampshire, it is illegal to treat gender dysphoria. By law, you cannot advise any patient to consider their birth sex, only whatever else the culture can imagine, and I think, someday soon, someone should sue the state. There is no evidence that transition is the best choice, and there is increasing proof it is not.

Therapists have no choice, so the only remedy would be to take the government to court as a means to use discovery to correct this miscarriage of science, therapy, and injustice. Sadly, it will likely take the parents of a child who, after being encouraged to transition because no other consideration is permitted, has committed suicide or suffered harm from hormone treatments or surgery.

The legislature lacks the will to fix it, while I see that GraniteGrok continues to report a cascade of revelations about the serisl fraud being committed in the name of gender science and social justice.

The most recent revelations come again out of England, where a study was commissioned into the research upon which gender “therapy” for children is based. The summation of this analysis says it all. The majority of it is of low quality, lacks developmental rigor and transparency, and the pillars of gender medicine are built on shaky foundations.

In the foreword to her report, [Dr. Hilary] Cass said while doctors tended to be cautious in implementing new findings, “quite the reverse happened in the field of gender care for children.”

It’s almost as if actual science was hijacked to advance some other agenda.

Cass commissioned the University of York to conduct a series of analyses as part of her review.

Two papers examined the quality and development of current guidelines and recommendations for managing gender dysphoria in children and young people. Most of the 23 clinical guidelines reviewed were not independent or evidence based, the researchers found.

A third paper on puberty blockers found that of 50 studies, only one was of high quality.

Similarly, of 53 studies included in a fourth paper on the use of hormone treatment, only one was of sufficiently high quality, with little or only inconsistent evidence on key outcomes.

Stories from or about genderbending from the UK, France, Netherlands, WPATH, and others point to the unraveling of a conspiracy based on what amounts to garbage. Whether those truth bombs keep falling or not depends on a lot of things, including what we do with the information seeping between the clutched fist of the transgender agenda. We’re not talking emergency use vaccine money, but the payday is substantial and without continued pushback from parents, school boards, towns, and legislatures, the children are not safe.

The gender warriors will not leave them alone while accusing anyone who contradicts their program as bigoted. That’s a lie. You have just as much right to speak your opinion as they do and based on this new analysis, most of what has been passing for gender science is little more than opinion with very littleevidence to back it up.

 

The post Night Cap: A Majority of Gender Research Lacks Rigour, Quality, or Evidence appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you missed the recent ‘Grok coverage on offshore wind, you can catch up here. Wind Power is not any of the things they say and mostly things they will not, and a plan to put turbines off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire is moving ahead despite the long list of negatives.

An informative session on the topic is coming up, and we wanted to let readers know so they could share that or plan to attend.

We have some great speakers who will provide research and information about offshore wind and its effects on marine life, fishing, the environment, and its questionable effectiveness and sustainability as a green, renewable energy source. This event has been put together in response to a pro-wind informational session previously planned to take place in Rye last month, which was canceled when the organization learned some people opposing the project would be in attendance.

Would love to see you there!

Fishing Off Our Coast 2: Offshore Wind Power & The Fishing Community
Mark Your Calendars! Date: April 23rd Time: 6:00 PM Location: Rye Congregational Church
580 Washington Road, Rye, NH 03870

Representatives from the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) will discuss their concerns regarding offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine, such as potential impacts on fishing grounds and the environment.

This is an important opportunity to learn more about the future of our coast and fishing industry.

If you go (I am not available that day), feel free to provide some details or a report for us to share.

The post Offshore Wind and New Hampshire – An Opportunity to Listen and be Heard appeared first on Granite Grok.

The ground shook in Tehran as Ali Khamenei, the 84 year old supreme leader of Iran, shook in his boots as he listened to President Joe Biden give his terse warning to Iran about attacking Israel. Biden looked into the camera, mustered all of his intestinal fortitude, and barked a single word that he thought would instill fear in the rogue country, “Don’t.”

Without another sound, he turned and shuffled away from the podium. He had spoken. It was feckless, but why should we expect more from this man who has disappointed us daily during his presidency?

I can imagine Biden had a similar effect on Benjamin Netanyahu as he listened to the American President, and it just adds to the confusing message of support that Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been delivering since the October 7 attack last year. One day, Biden is pledging unwavering military support for our greatest ally in the Middle East, and the next day, he is condemning Israel’s strategy and tactics. Since World War II, American support for the sovereignty and safety of Israel has been unconditional except for two Presidencies, Obama and Biden.

Nobody, except for China and Russia, has done more to bolster and finance Iran’s effort to become a nuclear threat, continue to be the biggest supporter of worldwide terrorism, and pledge to destroy Israel and America. President Trump had put a stranglehold on Iran with restrictions, sanctions, and freezing Iranian funds in America. These efforts had put Iran in a poor financial situation, which curbed their hostile actions.

Joe Biden reversed all of Trump’s decisions and set Iran free to pursue their devious plans once again. Billions of dollars were immediately available. For four years, we had this threat under control, but just like our border and the streets of America, Biden unleashed fury on America with no apparent purpose other than negating any Trump act. That is not a foreign policy position, but we were warned that Biden has never been on the correct side of any foreign decision.

As I am writing this article, Iran has launched an unknown number of drones aimed at Israel, so much for Don’t. These drones are slow-moving, and we do not know if cruise missiles will be launched as a second wave, but this is a critical moment in the Middle East conflict. This drone launch is the first direct attack from Iran and expands the breadth of the conflict. Israel will react as needed, but all eyes will be on Biden and the ample American assets in the area. Will we actively support Israel and go after Iran, or will we be empty threats, which is the track record of Biden’s administration?

This attack is risky for Iran, which is not popular with its people. They are performing to get attention from outside forces like China and Russia. They are trying to show strength. Tonight will tell how effective and strong Iran is, but the consensus is they will fall short. Israel is small in area but huge in heart. They will respond to defend themselves, but the bottom line is Iran would not have done this if America had a stronger leader. Again, Biden is the wrong man at the wrong time for world stability.

The post “Don’t” Is Not A Foreign Policy appeared first on Granite Grok.

Island nations like the Maldives quickly lined up for handouts when the Global Warming Cult got its sea legs. In the decades since that overlubricated wheel still grinds and screeches despite the very real fact that these places are not getting swallowed by Poseidon’s climate rage—quite the opposite.

The sea level rise narrative has had a bad few years all around.

East Coast beaches haven’t changed much at all in seventy years, and in some cases, like Jones Beach on Long Island, they’ve gotten bigger. This is good news for people in Manhattan who were supposed to be underwater by 2018, but years later, sea-level-wise, things look a lot like they did in 1918.

And the Maldives? They were supposed to be underwater by 2018 as well, which should have slowed the grand opening of a $500.00-a-night 120-villa resort project that opened on Raa Atoll in 2019. It’s still there, but there is one difference. It costs about $1000.00 a night to stay there now and not because the sea is coming to take it away. The same year that the pricey resort opened, researchers were conducting a global analysis of beaches and islands around the globe.

A 2019 global-scale analysis of 709 islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans revealed 89% were either stable or growing in size, and that no island larger than 10 ha (and only 1.2% of islands larger than 5 ha) had decreased in size since the 1980s (Duvat, 2019).

Likewise, the globe’s beaches been growing by 0.33 m/year since 1984 (Luijendijk et al., 2018).

In a press release for a 2016 paper on coastal land area changes from 1985 to 2015, scientists acknowledged this:

“We expected that the coast would start to retreat due to sea level rise, but the most surprising thing is that the coasts are growing all over the world“ – BBC

I guess the resort investors knew more than the so-called experts (emphasis added).

The scientists observed that despite rising sea levels, many shorelines in Tuvalu and neighbouring Pacific atolls have maintained relative stability, “without significant alteration”. A comprehensive re-examination of data on 30 Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls with 709 islands found that none of them had lost any land. Furthermore, the scientists added, there are data that indicate 47 reef islands expanded in size or remained stable over the last 50 years, “despite experiencing a rate of sea-level rise that exceeds the global average”. ..

That has to be disappointing but look on the bright side. You said global warming was going to affect island nations, and it has. Many of them are getting bigger. So, do you know less about ocean and island mechanics than you do climate? Is that even possible?

 

The post ‘Experts’ Said ‘Global Warming’ Would ‘Affect’ Island Nations And They Were Right… appeared first on Granite Grok.

It is not easy, and it may be very uncomfortable, to change your political affiliation because you finally realize that it is not you who is leaving the Party, but the Party has left you. I grew up in Massachusetts, where everyone joined the Democrat Party at birth. Those many years ago, John Kennedy personified the Democrat Party.

They were the Party of the little guy, unions and workers, social safety nets, and legal immigration. It is easy to see that today’s Democrat Party is not JFK’s Party. When I graduated college, I recognized that the Democrats and Massachusetts were changing, and it was not for the betterment of the state or its people. That is why I packed up the family and escaped to New Hampshire. Unfortunately, many people made that same pilgrimage over the border. Still, many brought the Massachusetts political philosophy with them and contributed to changing the Granite State from Red to Blue.

The morphing of the Maine Democrat Party has been happening for years, and this new Progressive version has been gutting Maine like you would a boiled lobster. It is past time for Maine Democrats to stop pulling the D lever out of habit and recognize the Republicans align better with your old-fashioned views. Don’t be alarmed when you look into the mirror one morning and a Conservative is staring back.

To look at some of the recent bills passed by the Democrat-led Maine Government in Augusta, one would gaze into the Progressive Playbook. It is a path that does not reflect the hard-working, traditional Mainers who built a beautiful, diverse state that was a magnet for vacationers everywhere. The motto of Vacationland is being changed by Democrats who now want people to come to Maine for late-term abortions and transgender counseling and surgery. The Dems want to take children away from parents who are not supportive of their children’s wishes to re-gender.

The Dems are diverting housing and resources meant for Mainers who need help to illegal migrants who should be deported. Dems have put Maine at the top of the list of the highest real estate taxes in the country and fourth on the list of highest income taxed individuals. The Dems are restricting the Maine Lobster Industry to extinction while promoting marijuana usage and sales because they see the tax revenue that industry can generate. The state is doing little to stem the growth of illegal Chinese Cartel marijuana farms. It identifies laws that the justice department will no longer enforce because of a shortage of staff in the Justice and Law Enforcement agencies. These decisions are making Maine a less safe environment for Maine’s citizens but more attractive for illegals and criminals.

It may seem like a giant leap to leave the Democrats that have been your Party for a lifetime, but not so big when you look at the facts. Does the Democrat Party in Maine today reflect who you are, or is it time to let them go and look across the aisle. You will find those folks ready to welcome you to their Party, and I assure you that you will feel right at home. Like the feel of your favorite slippers, you will fit right in and wonder why you took so long to take the leap. Welcome home, my friends. Now, let’s make Maine back into the state we love.

The post Wake Up Maine Democrats, This Is Not Your Parent’s Party appeared first on Granite Grok.

Tell Your Representatives to Prioritize Students over Harmful DEI Initiatives. SB 219 – Act now to:

1. Sign in in support of the bill, next scheduled for a hearing in the House Education Committee Tuesday, 4/16/24.

2. Consider attending the committee hearing to testify in support of the bill, 4/16/24, at 9:30am in the Legislative Office Building room 205-207.

SB 219, The Students First Act, is an important bill that will crack down on sprawling and expensive school administration in New Hampshire to ensure that our education spending puts students and teachers first.

As amended by the Senate, SB 219 would require school districts to report six-figure salaries of diversity professionals and other high-paid administrators before school budget meetings.

These reports will prove to voters that they are being deceived. Despite decades of increasing school expenses around New Hampshire to reportedly benefit our students, no school tax increases are going to teacher pay. Instead, school districts are creating well-paid, left-wing administrative bureaucracies focused on expensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and staffing, all at the expense of teachers and students.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

1. Register your support of SB 219 by signing in in support of the bill here.

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to sign in here.

2. Submit written testimony. You can do this when you sign in. Simply hit “choose file” under step number four to upload a document with your testimony, or type your testimony into the provided box.

3. Come testify in person. We have step-by-step instructions on how to testify here. You can also reach out to us at cornerstone@nhcornerstone.org if you have any questions about the testifying process.

Important Note: Some have issues with the House remote sign-in page. If you are encountering problems, you can also email the committee directly to register your support of this bill and/or submitting written testimony. You can find their contact info here.

Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to steve@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication – Publication is not an endorsement.

The Importance of State Recognition of Biological Sex

Several pieces of legislation seeking to address the issue of protecting women’s sports are being considered by the New Hampshire General Court with one, HB 396, uniquely positioned for passage. HB 396, permitting classification of individuals based on biological sex under certain limited circumstances, narrowly survived the House and is now headed to the Senate for review.

While other pending legislation focuses on sporting events alone, HB 396 provides for broader application by allowing “any person or organization, public or private” the opportunity to make a classification based on biological sex. This level of classification flexibility and protection is not present in any of the other bills.

HB 396 provides the most expansive framework to address these issues and has the greatest success of becoming law in New Hampshire. It is of vital necessity that the Senate pass HB 396, unamended in any way, as an important first and needed step in clarifying the state’s ability to differentiate based on biological sex. This bill will pave the way for any person or organization, public or private, to protect women in the areas of sports, prisons and places of intimate privacy.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
We encourage you to stay tuned for any updates on HB 396 as it advances to the Senate. Read more about this important issue and its priority in our blog post here.

Oppose State-Sanctioned Suicide in the Senate

On March 21st, the New Hampshire House of Representatives, including many Republicans, ignored the voices of the disabled community, veterans, and concerned New Hampshire citizens of all ages and cast their vote to legalize state-sanctioned suicide. HB 1283, relative to end of life options, passed by the closest of margins in the House, 179-177.

HB 1283 poses a risk to all Granite Staters, but especially to young citizens, already at risk for suicide. You can read more on this risk and how assisted suicide, in all forms, must be opposed in this op-ed from Mary Fahey: Young People Need Suicide Prevention, Not Promotion.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
As the issue of state-sanctioned suicide advances to the Senate, we urge you to continue strong opposition to the bill, and stay tuned for more Cornerstone updates on key dates, including when the bill comes up for a hearing before the Senate HHS Committee.

We will keep you informed on any additional opportunities to help halt this dangerous legislation.

The post Tell Your Representatives to Prioritize Students over Harmful DEI Initiatives appeared first on Granite Grok.

Dear Mayor Ruais, this post will serve as my application for “Housing Stability Director.” And have I got a deal for you! I will work for FREE … provided I have plenary power to implement my plan. Here are the details!

PHASE 1 … the put up (and I mean this literally) or shut up phase. Every local politician running his mouth about how Manchester needs to “do more,” etc., etc., etc. for the homeless (lovely euphemisms all for increasing the size, scope and power of unelected bureaucrats like the Communist lunatic you just paid off to walk away) MUST house a minimum of two homeless in their residence. These local politicians are constantly extolling their virtue and compassion so I cannot imagine I will need to exercise the powers of my position as “Housing Stability Director” to open their doors … but needless to say I stand ready to do so whenever and wherever necessary.

PHASE 2 … the shared sacrifice phase. Every Democrat State Senator and State Rep will be asked to house a minimum of two homeless in their homes. I can’t imagine, given how relentlessly these Democrat politicians remind us that they are our moral compasses that even one would refuse. But in each and every case that a Democrat State Senator or State Rep refuses, a minimum of two homeless will be relocated to their homes along with tents to be pitched in the front or back yard.

PHASE 3 … this is part two of the shared sacrifice plan. All remaining homeless will be transported to BLUE towns and cities. We endlessly hear FROM THEM about how virtuous and compassionate they are so I have no doubt that these BLUE towns will welcome the homeless with open arms. But they’re coming whether or not our moral superiors in Hopkinton, Exeter, Concord, etc. like it or not.

What a great plan, eh! Let me know when I start!

The post Dear Mayor Ruais … My Application For “Housing Stability Director” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Political meddlers like to mess with everything, including ride-share companies. Early on, it was to protect cab companies that exercised political power to retain their cartel. Later, when and where that didn’t work, the busybodies put their dirty fingers in the wage pie. You don’t pay your drivers enough. We’re making you pay them more.

Did rideshare operations not have enough people choosing to work for them? That does not appear to have been an issue, but like any gathering of Democrats, the Minneapolis City Council knows better. They passed a city ordinance that would require ride-share companies to pay drivers $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute. The thinking, as if there was any involved, is that this would raise their “minimum wage” to over $15.00 an hour, as required by the city. Democrats are bad at math, but that doesn’t stop them from trying.

Uber and Lyft made it clear that if the new rules go into effect—slated for May 1st—they will stop doing business in Minneapolis. Thanks to busybody Democrats, the new minimum wage for their drivers would be the only true minimum wage—zero.

In early March both Uber and Lyft threatened to leave Minneapolis by May 1, after the council upped driver-pay requirements to $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute. Councilmembers said it was necessary to ensure drivers earned the equivalent of Minneapolis’s $15.57 minimum wage. But they determined the new pay rates without getting local data from Uber and Lyft and they didn’t invite company leaders to engage in their process.

Not everyone on the city council drinks from the same bucket of stupid.

[Councilwoman LaTrisha] Vetaw said her constituents have been living with “fear and anxiety” over whether they’ll be able to get to work or pick up their children from school, and called on her colleagues to find the “courage” to fix the policy.

“In this work, we all need to be willing to admit when we get things wrong,” she said. “I think this is just a bad policy and we need to go back and fix it.”

Ride-sharing has become a thread in the fabric of modern existence, something people rely on, like electricity and water. From the work itself, turning idle hours into income, to the ubiquity of knowing you can get a ride at a reasonable rate with a few taps on a smartphone. I suppose that explains it. Meddlers have done their best to make water and electricity unaffordable. Why not rideshare? And they tried, but you can’t make them stay (Uber or Lyft), and their promise has encouraged Minneapolis to slow its roll. The city council voted this week to delay implementation for two more months.

The decision to delay the implementation of the city’s rideshare pay rules from May 1 to July 1 was intended to buy time for the Minnesota legislature to implement a statewide policy that could override the city’s ordinance and for upstart rideshare companies looking to replace Uber and Lyft to enter the market.

I’m not familiar with the unnecessary rules the state has implemented to meddle, but I like the idea of opening up the marketplace to competition. More is better, but that doesn’t change the problem created by the mandated pay hike. Rideshare companies aren’t going to eat that; consumers will bear the mandated costs. But the real cost of meddling doesn’t stop there.

“This ordinance started with a good intent to ensure that every rideshare driver earned the city-mandated minimum wage. But it is now so tainted with negative public opinion and outcry that I find it unsalvageable,” Palmisano said, adding that her constituents are “upset, angry, frustrated, and downright despondent over this ordinance.”

She said there have already been negative effects: some drivers who had financed their vehicles have had them recalled, and one of her constituents who is nearing completion of a college degree is losing tuition assistance from one of the companies.

“These aren’t hypotheticals,” she said. “They’re already happening.”

Isn’t there a saying about government and good intentions?

The post Uber and Lyft Promise to Leave after Democrat City Council Meddles With Wages appeared first on Granite Grok.

I’ve written about sports mascots several times over the years, usually lamenting progressive bullies who’ve “canceled” so many symbols and nicknames. Some fair points were raised about some Native American Indian Indigenous symbology perhaps being culturally insensitive. So, despite respectful compromise proposals, politically correct bullies still defined nicknames on their negative terms, so it was goodbye Indians, Redskins, Chiefs, et al., and hello Big Green and Blue Pride et al.

Kudos to the Atlanta Braves, Laconia Sachems, Colebrook Mohawks, et al. for standing up to the bullies and retaining traditional nicknames—which most real Indigenous Native American Indians actually support.

Anyway, I noted with interest an MSN.com piece by commentator Noah Smith concerning a new nickname controversy involving a minor league baseball team in Minnesota—the St. Paul Saints.

No, the progressives haven’t yet canceled the “Saints” nickname to replace it with Blue Devils or Red Devils et al. At issue is the team mascot, who happens to be a pig.

According to Smith, the Saints hold a “Name the Pig Contest” each year, which draws thousands of submissions from fans eager to christen a porcine personality who’ll then be a regular at Saints games. This year’s selection, “OzemPig,” emerged victorious from nearly 2,300 entries, beating out contending proposals aimed at reflecting current events, pop culture, or humor.

Apparently, Ozempic is a medication prescribed for diabetics. Some folks take Ozempic (and its sister drug Wegovy) to address weight issues et al.

So, OzemPig generated an unexpected backlash. Despite the outcry, the team bravely stood by its choice, claiming no harm was intended with the playful twist on the medication name. OzemPig himself had no comment.

Sean Aronson, the Saints’ vice president and director of media relations, expressed surprise at the reaction to the name, which was immediately met with criticism upon its announcement. Social media platforms became battlegrounds as commenters voiced concerns that the name was hurtful and insensitive, seeing it as a form of fat-shaming. But Aronson cited the team’s history of offbeat humor and insisted that there was no ill intent.

“In today’s world, people don’t want to be diminished or be made to feel a certain way and I’m not going to tell them how they feel is wrong,” Aronson said. “But I can tell you there was no maliciousness involved here. No one thought this name might offend some people.”

Kudos to the Saints and OzemPig for not being “cowed” by the thin-skinned, easily-offended, virtue-signaling, intolerant, judgmental progressive bullies et al.—the folks who brought you the Dartmouth Big Green, the Cleveland Guardians, the Washington FT, and the Stanford Tree.

(Yes, Stanford University—née Indians —now has a tree as a mascot. But don’t try to hug it, lest humorless progressives charge you with assault. The Tree itself was recently suspended for waving an unauthorized sign. So much for free speech on campus. But I digress.)
Perhaps it “bears” mentioning that while pigs are generally good-natured, more people are killed annually by pigs than by sharks. (So don’t mess with OzemPig!)

In 2025, we’ll have to check in with the team to learn the name of next year’s pig, assuming OzemPig moves on to greener pastures—or outfields.

How about just naming the pig “Saint Paul?”

Except that would certainly offend progressives, non-Christians, and secular humanists, et al. Maybe just Paul? Paul the Pig? Or Paula. But female pigs are probably not de rigeur—for reasons I won’t try to explain here.

How about Boss Hog? Or Chief? Or better yet, Geronimo! (Pigs will fly before any porcine mascot is named Geronimo.)

Maybe Mike? But Mike the Pig would likely be too masculine—for reasons I won’t try to explain here.

Porky Pig might work, being alliterative and gender-neutral. But I think it’s trademarked.

An aha moment:

Name next year’s pig “Virtue-Signaler!” Dress him/her/in a tee shirt saying “Climate Action Now!” and announce that Virtue Signaler will only be fed organic greens, distilled water, and CBD gummies.

Pig problem solved.

“Go Saints!”

The post More #Woke Mascot Mania… And a Pig! appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you have followed along with what is happening in Brazil, you might start reflecting on what is going on in New Hampshire and see how fascism starts. It’s not a left versus right problem, even if it ends up resulting in far-right totalitarianism. It’s a problem that spawns from a need to control the narrative to cover up gross corruption—kleptocracies.

Kleptocracy — “a society or system ruled by people who use their power to steal their country’s resources.”

Alexandre de Moraes is the president of the Superior Electoral Court and a justice of the Supreme Federal Court in Brazil. He’s been labeled a “dictator” by some. Even though he is not the president of Brazil, he has been accused of having the president on a leash by Elon Musk.

De Moraes is criminally investigating Elon Musk and “X.” Employees of X have been told they will be arrested. Starlink has been disabled, cutting off internet access for remote communities.

It all sounds extreme and a far cry from the forests, mountains, lakes, and politics of New Hampshire. But it is not. When you look at “global” it would be foolish not to consider “local”.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/world-on-cusp-of-woke-totalitarianism-as-governments-act-to-end-free-speech

To understand what is going on today, we have to look at history.

We want to thank Claire Best for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Alexandre de Moraes is an extreme far-right judge, and Lula Da Silva, Brazil’s president, is left-wing. They are bound together by “Operation Car Wash” — a massive money laundering scandal at the center of the Panama Papers trial, which commenced yesterday.

“The case centers on allegations the firm set up shell companies to acquire properties in Panama with money from a sprawling corruption scheme in Brazil known as the Car Wash, or Lava Jato in Portuguese.”

Lula Da Silva went to prison for “Operation Car Wash,” but Supreme Federal Court Judge Edson Fachin overturned his convictions because, he argued, the case had been tried in the wrong state in Brazil.

Lula Da Silva was thus able to run for president and win the election in 2022. Alexandre de Moraes was a “vice” or deputy judge under Edson Fachin but he was also accused of being paid $4 million for work relating to Operation Car Wash.

Left wing Lula needs right wing De Moraes and De Moraes, who needs his own corruption covered up in the same graft scandal, is a disciple of Edson Fachin. A Faustian bargain.

When you read about this interdependence in order to cover up political corruption in Brazil, you would be forgiven if you were reminded of the club at the top of NH Politics and Courts: The one that a Washington Post article referred to in 1999 following the divorce of Chuck Douglas (a former member of Congress and former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice) from his 4th wife, also an attorney:

“The judges, who are all Chuck’s friends, rule against my clients just because I represent them.”

Other lawyers in Concord say Caroline Douglas’s argument is not without merit. But they say the situation is nowhere near as simple as she implies. There has been widespread dissatisfaction for some time in New Hampshire, they say, with the state’s clubby, closed-door method of handling complaints against judges and other lawyers. Her scattershot charges of a self-protective judicial old-boy network, they say, have clearly touched a nerve and accelerated moves toward reform.”

The timing of Alexandre de Moraes’ pursuit of Elon Musk is interesting, given that the trials for the Pandora Papers started this week. One wonders if the real reason he wants to go after X is to protect Brazil’s elections from foreign interference (as he professes) or is it that he and Lula don’t want critics of corruption to be speaking up on X or for details from the Pandora Papers trial to leak out — details that would most likely implicate him and Lula and their activities in “Car Wash”?

Meanwhile, on the home front, this week sees the start of the first civil case against the State of New Hampshire for abuse at the Youth Detention Center. More than 1000 cases are to follow. The State had originally dismissed claims of abuse as “victim negligence.” Now, the public is funding over $100 million (of which attorneys will get between 30–40%) for settlements to claimants against the State. The abuse didn’t start recently. It’s been going on and ignored for decades.

The criminal cases have been pushed back to later in the year. There have been multiple reports on the conflicts of interest for the State Attorney General’s Office, judges, and attorneys involved. Elected Republicans and Democrats all have their hand in the ugly mess from Governors (now Senators) to Attorneys General appointed by Governors, to members of the State’s Executive Committee, City Mayors, Police and DOC Officials, to the Department of Children Youth and Families and “non-profit” affiliates.

To actually come clean on what happened could (and should) send dozens of officials and others to prison, but there’s a kleptocracy to protect, federal grants to keep, and an enterprise to sustain. Control of the narrative, as it is with Alexandre De Moraes, is key. Brazil was on the brink of financial collapse when “Car Wash” was going on.

It could be argued that New Hampshire would be on the brink of financial collapse if the full and ugly truth were to come out regarding abuse of public funds to abuse, use, and harm children.

Nobody has asked for a Grand Jury Criminal Investigation into the New Hampshire Youth Detention Center. These trials will be a dance to appease the masses, split the baby, and protect the corruption. Judges aren’t going to rat on each other. Attorneys won’t rat on former judges or attorneys general because they all circulate in the same murky incestuous pool, feeding from the same teet now as they did in 1999 when the Washington Post touched on it. Public Officials won’t call each other out because none of them want to go to prison for cover-ups of abuse, which involved collusion across state agencies. I would not be remotely surprised if there was a secret code between each Governor and the next, each Attorney General and the next, to not expose the past.

Like Brazil, New Hampshire’s news media is censored. Elected officials in New Hampshire are intermediaries between the media, police, prosecutors, attorneys, and the courts. It’s all about control, just as it is in Brazil.

Manchester Police hired a reporter from WMUR to be their spokesperson. Concord Police and Merrimack County Superior Court work with elected officials and the NHCADSV to create and control their message. They have the ability to restrict media access to the courts so that only their trusted friends cover what’s going on. State laws don’t apply to public officials or when they do, the punishment is light.

The only DA who criticized the police’s use of media in investigations (Robin Davis) got smeared with a hostile environment suit and voted out in 2020. She had been a public defender and a Democrat, yet the Dem Caucus rep on the Concord City Council and NHCADSV preferred to have a Republican Juvenile Prosecutor in place. Chuck Douglas filed the hostile environment suit against the DA. The trick worked. She was gone from their business after just two years. Her complaints about the police were dismissed even though her concerns were probably well rooted in just cause.

We know what the police and prosecutors have said about the disappearance and death of Harmony Montgomery but since they couldn’t get their own timeline and story straight, that doesn’t mean we should trust Manchester Police’s media expert to tell the truth. Her body has not been found. Her father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted of her murder but refuses to show up to sentencing as he is denying that he is guilty. His girlfriend committed suicide, and the Manchester Police PR person said that it was not a suspicious death.

“Small’s death is not considered suspicious, according to police, although officials said the exact cause of death has not been determined.”

If you question the official narrative coming from police and courts, you are likely to be pursued, stalked, spied upon, or threatened. Is there any reason to trust the official narrative any more than the person in the court dock?

New Hampshire is really no different in many ways than Brazil:

Brazil’s leaders are implicated in the Panama Papers to the tune of $5.3 billion, while New Hampshire is the home to $932.5 billion in Pandora Papers secret accounts

The Pandora Papers followed the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers. We wouldn’t have known about any of them if it wasn’t for the dogged pursuit of independent journalists who have managed to avoid censorship.

Autofair, which was based in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Bedford, is listed in the Paradise Papers.

Andrew H Crews was CEO of Autofair. He stepped down and the business was sold around the time that the US Senate Ways & Means Committee started asking Governors about the Pandora Papers.

Crews is on the board of Children’s Advocacy Centers, on the board of Primary Bank, on the board of Granite One Health, and President of the New Hampshire Lottery. Former US Attorney Bill Shaheen’s law firm handles lottery winners — Shaheen & Gordon argued to keep the identities of lottery winners private.

The law firm also represented Ghislaine Maxwell when she was arrested after being tracked down to a house she bought in cash through a shell company in New Hampshire. The house was registered by the Registrar of Deeds (an elected official) whose office appears to be adjacent to that of the Sheriff of Merrimack County whose son was arrested for domestic violence and tampering with evidence.

The previous sheriff was arrested for a DWI, and the Attorney General didn’t think he should be on a list of corrupt police officers.

The same AG (Gordon MacDonald) is now Supreme Court Chief Justice and argued to keep the list of corrupt police officers private.

Whenever judicial decisions take place behind closed doors in New Hampshire, you can guarantee that it is done in order to protect corruption from being exposed. Whether it is Rep. Troy Merner’s plea deal, Police Officer James F McLaughlin’s suit against the City of Keene Police, decisions by AG to delete police files or rulings by judges to keep publicly paid-for reports private.

Judges, police, and public officials are all getting secret deals that no ordinary citizen could ever hope for:

As with Alexandre de Moraes, Edson Fachin, Lula da Silva, and their cronies who range across the political spectrum, what’s really being protected when it comes to censorship in Brazil and New Hampshire is a wall against the public’s right to know and the public’s right to criticize its government.

According to Wikipedia:
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and/or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

The post Night Cap: Fascism Starts With Censorship appeared first on Granite Grok.